Read Online Infinity Blade 01- Awakening by Brandon Sanderson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Brandon Sanderson
Ads: Link
to another in about a month.”
“Lantimor,” he said, working the word over in his mouth. Someone else’s name for where he lived. Names like that belonged to the Deathless. Everyone he knew just called it the land or the area.
“So naive,” Isa said, mostly under her breath. She probably didn’t realize he’d heard.
He kept his eyes forward, trying not to let her words dig at him. He didn’t care if he was naive. He didn’t. Really.
I’ll show her naive. I’ll show her what it’s like to know truths. Pain like the world crumbling, shame like it might consume you, guilt like a sky of lead . . .
He stilled himself, hand shaking on the hilt of the Infinity Blade. The sweat beads on the sides of his face grew larger.
“Did you really best him?” Isa asked. “In a duel?”
“The God King? Yes. For all the good it did. He isn’t dead.”
Isa pursed her lips.
“What?” Siris asked.
“Raidriar—you call him the God King—is said to be among the greatest duelists of the Deathless.”
“It was part luck,” Siris said. “Any duel is. A dodge at the last moment, an attack in the right opening. He was good; better than any I’d faced.”
She shook her head. “You don’t understand. Raidriar is thousands of years old, whiskers. Thousands upon thousands . You think he hasn’t faced skilled opponents before? He has. Hundreds of them—many of them Deathless who have lived, and trained, as long as he has. And you say that you beat him.”
“What? You think I found this sword sitting in the midden heap or something?”
“No. But a shot with the crossbow to the back could work. It wouldn’t kill him, but it might knock him out for a little while, let you steal the blade. Hell, hit a Deathless with enough destruction, and they’ll need to grow a new body. Cut off his head while he sleeps, then take his sword, get out before he comes back . . .”
“I fight with the Aegis Forms,” Siris snapped, hand growing tight on the sword hilt. “I follow the ancient ideal. If a man faces me with honor, I will return it.”
“Might as well have thrown that in the midden heap,” Isa muttered. “That’s where it belongs.”
Siris said nothing. You couldn’t explain the Aegis Forms to someone who didn’t understand, who didn’t want to understand. When he and the God King had fought, they’d shared something. They’d set out to kill one another, and on one level, they had hated one another. But there had been respect too. As warriors who followed the ancient ideal.
Of course . . . as he considered it, the God King had known that he wasn’t fighting for his life. Immortality would make it a whole lot easier to follow the Aegis Forms.
Before talking to the minions in the castle, he hadn’t even known that Deathless could restore themselves to life. He’d known the God King had lived a long time, but had figured a sword in the gut would end any man, no matter how old he was.
Naive. Yes, she was probably right.
“You didn’t seem surprised to find that he wasn’t truly dead,” Siris said. “You seem to know a lot about them.”
“I stumbled upon one of their rebirthing chambers once,” she said absently. “It was an . . . educational experience. So, where’d you get that healing ring?”
Siris snorted. “You acted so surprised at my beard. You knew all along, didn’t you?”
“I’m good at connecting facts,” she said. Which wasn’t really an answer to his question. “Where did you find it?”
“It belonged to the God King,” Siris said. “I found others, though. On the bodies of the guards I fought. I’ve got a few of them in my pouch.”
“Huh,” she said, thoughtful.
“What?”
“Did the guards ever use the rings against you?” she asked. “To heal themselves?”
“No,” he said. “Actually, they didn’t.” He considered for a moment. “Usually when I found one, it was hung by a strap around their neck, or kept in their pouch. That makes
“Lantimor,” he said, working the word over in his mouth. Someone else’s name for where he lived. Names like that belonged to the Deathless. Everyone he knew just called it the land or the area.
“So naive,” Isa said, mostly under her breath. She probably didn’t realize he’d heard.
He kept his eyes forward, trying not to let her words dig at him. He didn’t care if he was naive. He didn’t. Really.
I’ll show her naive. I’ll show her what it’s like to know truths. Pain like the world crumbling, shame like it might consume you, guilt like a sky of lead . . .
He stilled himself, hand shaking on the hilt of the Infinity Blade. The sweat beads on the sides of his face grew larger.
“Did you really best him?” Isa asked. “In a duel?”
“The God King? Yes. For all the good it did. He isn’t dead.”
Isa pursed her lips.
“What?” Siris asked.
“Raidriar—you call him the God King—is said to be among the greatest duelists of the Deathless.”
“It was part luck,” Siris said. “Any duel is. A dodge at the last moment, an attack in the right opening. He was good; better than any I’d faced.”
She shook her head. “You don’t understand. Raidriar is thousands of years old, whiskers. Thousands upon thousands . You think he hasn’t faced skilled opponents before? He has. Hundreds of them—many of them Deathless who have lived, and trained, as long as he has. And you say that you beat him.”
“What? You think I found this sword sitting in the midden heap or something?”
“No. But a shot with the crossbow to the back could work. It wouldn’t kill him, but it might knock him out for a little while, let you steal the blade. Hell, hit a Deathless with enough destruction, and they’ll need to grow a new body. Cut off his head while he sleeps, then take his sword, get out before he comes back . . .”
“I fight with the Aegis Forms,” Siris snapped, hand growing tight on the sword hilt. “I follow the ancient ideal. If a man faces me with honor, I will return it.”
“Might as well have thrown that in the midden heap,” Isa muttered. “That’s where it belongs.”
Siris said nothing. You couldn’t explain the Aegis Forms to someone who didn’t understand, who didn’t want to understand. When he and the God King had fought, they’d shared something. They’d set out to kill one another, and on one level, they had hated one another. But there had been respect too. As warriors who followed the ancient ideal.
Of course . . . as he considered it, the God King had known that he wasn’t fighting for his life. Immortality would make it a whole lot easier to follow the Aegis Forms.
Before talking to the minions in the castle, he hadn’t even known that Deathless could restore themselves to life. He’d known the God King had lived a long time, but had figured a sword in the gut would end any man, no matter how old he was.
Naive. Yes, she was probably right.
“You didn’t seem surprised to find that he wasn’t truly dead,” Siris said. “You seem to know a lot about them.”
“I stumbled upon one of their rebirthing chambers once,” she said absently. “It was an . . . educational experience. So, where’d you get that healing ring?”
Siris snorted. “You acted so surprised at my beard. You knew all along, didn’t you?”
“I’m good at connecting facts,” she said. Which wasn’t really an answer to his question. “Where did you find it?”
“It belonged to the God King,” Siris said. “I found others, though. On the bodies of the guards I fought. I’ve got a few of them in my pouch.”
“Huh,” she said, thoughtful.
“What?”
“Did the guards ever use the rings against you?” she asked. “To heal themselves?”
“No,” he said. “Actually, they didn’t.” He considered for a moment. “Usually when I found one, it was hung by a strap around their neck, or kept in their pouch. That makes
Similar Books
